Someone Planted an Annoyatron in My Office and I Just Found It. What Next?

[CleverNickName]

A bit of backstory.

I'm working remotely on a construction site in Northern California at the moment. The engineering company I work for has set up a temporary field office in an old bank next to the construction site, and my workstation is about 30 feet from the bank safe. Because the office was once a bank, there are tons of wires, cables, cameras, motion detectors, buttons, and alarms everywhere--all of which were supposed to have been disabled. And because this is an engineering field office, we brought in tons of portable, battery-powered monitoring equipment, sensors, measuring devices, and stuff to help us track and control a wide range of data--everything from river flow rates and rainfall, to volatile organic compounds and water turbidity. Without turning my head, I can count 33 electronic devices in my cubicle alone.

I arrived on site about a month ago, to cover for one of my colleagues who will be traveling for a few months on another assignment. And ever since I got here, there has been this annoying little cricket-like chirp, similar to the sound some devices make when they have a low battery. One of the many, many devices in my office that constantly have low batteries. I've checked the batteries on every single device in the building, plus every old abandoned piece of equipment that was left behind by the bank. Nothing would stop the noise.

So, being an engineer, I used Science: I set a timer to measure the time between chirps--low battery warnings, etc., are usually on a fixed interval you see. This mysterious chirping noise was on a random interval, though: 183 seconds, 2329 seconds, 1104 seconds. And only one device has a random alert interval: the Annoyatron, from ThinkGeek. Now that I knew what I was looking for, the rest was easy: just estimate the direction from where the sound was coming from, then ask myself: "where would I hide such a device?" And there I found it, behind the EXIT sign over the door.

Now I have the device. It's in my warm, vengeful hands. What shall I do with it?

 

[CleverNickName]

One thing I could do:

1. Go to Amazon and buy two more.
2. Plant them around the office.
3. Put the original back with a Post-it Note that reads, "NOW THERE'S TWO"

 

[payn]

A bit of backstory.

I'm working remotely on a construction site in Northern California at the moment. The engineering company I work for has set up a temporary field office in an old bank next to the construction site, and my workstation is about 30 feet from the bank safe. Because the office was once a bank, there are tons of wires, cables, cameras, motion detectors, buttons, and alarms everywhere--all of which were supposed to have been disabled. And because this is an engineering field office, we brought in tons of portable, battery-powered monitoring equipment, sensors, measuring devices, and stuff to help us track and control a wide range of data--everything from river flow rates and rainfall, to volatile organic compounds and water turbidity. Without turning my head, I can count 33 electronic devices in my cubicle alone.

I arrived on site about a month ago, to cover for one of my colleagues who will be traveling for a few months on another assignment. And ever since I got here, there has been this annoying little cricket-like chirp, similar to the sound some devices make when they have a low battery. One of the many, many devices in my office that constantly have low batteries. I've checked the batteries on every single device in the building, plus every old abandoned piece of equipment that was left behind by the bank. Nothing would stop the noise.

So, being an engineer, I used Science: I set a timer to measure the time between chirps--low battery warnings, etc., are usually on a fixed interval you see. This mysterious chirping noise was on a random interval, though: 183 seconds, 2329 seconds, 1104 seconds. And only one device has a random alert interval: the Annoyatron, from ThinkGeek. Now that I knew what I was looking for, the rest was easy: just estimate the direction from where the sound was coming from, then ask myself: "where would I hide such a device?" And there I found it, behind the EXIT sign over the door.

Now I have the device. It's in my warm, vengeful hands. What shall I do with it?

Are you cool with this now that you found it? Like, is it a funny joke that made you laugh at the end? If so, then sure you got a lot of options to keep the joke running. However, if this was a source of great annoyance and now you are looking for revenge, i'd say dont s#$t where you eat.

 

[GMMichael]

You have to start by making a big deal of it at meetings. Get dramatic about how IMPOSSIBLY ANNOYING it is. Then subtly watch to see who gets the most enjoyment out of it. That person is your target.

 

[CleverNickName]

Are you cool with this now that you found it? Like, is it a funny joke that made you laugh at the end? If so, then sure you got a lot of options to keep the joke running. However, if this was a source of great annoyance and now you are looking for revenge, i'd say dont s#$t where you eat.

Oh I'm cool with it...it was a very clever prank. The trouble is, I don't want to annoy anyone other than the culprit(s). So first I need to figure out who planted the device, and whether or not they had any accomplices. Then, I need to tell everyone else about it and make sure they're okay with whatever I plan to do next.

Don't want the wrong people getting caught in the crossfire, ya know?

 

[Ryujin]

I would tend to think that anyone who would plant such a device wouldn't be working in the same area. Even if you know what it is, it's annoying.

 

[aco175]

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm a pretty good sleuth. I found out who is responsible (a friend of mine), and I found out who their accomplices were (literally everyone else in the office). So I admitted I found the device, everyone had a good laugh at my expense, and I returned the device.

But this isn't over. Oh, it's so very far from over.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm a pretty good sleuth. I found out who is responsible (a friend of mine), and I found out who their accomplices were (literally everyone else in the office). So I admitted I found the device, everyone had a good laugh at my expense, and I returned the device.

But this isn't over. Oh, it's so very far from over.

As someone who enjoys vengeance more than the characters in the trilogy of movies by Park Chan-wook, I will give you the following observations:

1. Don't just do a second Annoyatron. The reply prank must be different in kind.

2. Find the essence of what the prank was (something that was annoying and hidden, perhaps) and raise the stakes.

3. Go big or go home.

Now, with all that in mind, please note that I am telling you that you need to go bigger than what was done to you, but don't go full Oldboy or Scott Tenorman, if you feel me.

 

[payn]

As someone who enjoys vengeance more than the characters in the trilogy of movies by Park Chan-wook, I will give you the following observations:

1. Don't just do a second Annoyatron. The reply prank must be different in kind.

2. Find the essence of what the prank was (something that was annoying and hidden, perhaps) and raise the stakes.

3. Go big or go home.

Now, with all that in mind, please note that I am telling you that you need to go bigger than what was done to you, but don't go full Oldboy or Scott Tenorman, if you feel me.

dayum...Snarf dont play for laughs!